Forests of the Night
by LobaEclipse
Summary: Jazz wasn't expecting a rescue, and he certainly wasn't expecting a rescue quite like this one.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** _Transformers_ is the property of Hasbro et al.

**Title:** _Forests of the Night (Fearful Symmetry, Arc One)_

**Rating and Warnings:** T (brief violence/morbidity and some dark themes, "OC" that isn't really an OC)

**Timeframe/Setting:** G1 with bits of Beast Wars and a few little things from Prime and movie!verse, very slightly AU; Cybertron, early war

**Summary:** Jazz wasn't expecting a rescue, and he certainly wasn't expecting a rescue quite like this one.

**A/N:** I once had a plotbunny that underwent mitosis and became two plotbunnylets. One grew up to be the _Blood Ties_ collection (which I am still working on, by the way) and the other became the _Fearful Symmetry_ series (tentatively a trilogy). It is less formally known as the "ecosystems, dammit!" fic, because I find this aspect of Cybertron to be woefully under-represented in both canon and fanon.

* * *

Arc One, Part One

_Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright  
In the forests of the night;  
What immortal hand or eye  
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?_

(from "The Tyger" by William Blake)

Someone was watching him.

Jazz could feel the tickle of scans across his plating even with his sensory net dulled and clouded. It took him a while to summon the energy to online his visor and glare at his visitor.

It wasn't Starscream or Shockwave, as he had dreaded. It wasn't even Mirage or Bumblebee, as he hadn't really allowed himself to hope. It was an oversized catbot. He struggled to focus. The catbot's dull black and grey plating made it difficult to spot in the darkness of the brig. It was sitting upright on its haunches with its tail wrapped primly around its feet. And it was staring at him as if it were trying to bore a hole in his armor.

Jazz realized that someone was pinging one of his more secure comm channels. He wasn't stupid enough to answer it.

The catbot narrowed its golden optics.

"Y'know," Jazz croaked. His vocalizer was full of static but speaking took his mind off of the thousand and one things that were currently wrong in Jazz's life. "Maybe yer boss . . . didn't 'splain it too well . . . but keepin' watch don't mean . . . ya have t' lit'rally . . . _watch_ me."

The catbot continued to stare. The bars of his cell continued to hum with energy. The cuffs continued to pinch his wrists no matter how he squirmed. The stranger continued to ping his comm.

"So you got th' . . . short end of the stick . . . huh? I don't feel much like . . . tryin' to escape right now . . . sorry if I bore ya."

The end of the catbot's tail twitched.

"Regular chatterbox, ain't ya?"

One of the catobot's lip plates lifted to expose a set of polished steel teeth. The pinging became, if possible, even more annoying.

"Oh, you gotta be kiddin' me . . ." Jazz growled. "Is that _you_?"

The pinging abruptly stopped. The catbot narrowed its optics again. The pinging resumed.

"Oh, for the love of . . ." Jazz sagged as much as the chains would allow. He was strung up on the wall like some sort of macabre decoration and his feet could barely reach the floor. "What d' you want?"

The catbot stood up and revved its engine in a soft growl. Its whole tail was lashing.

"Fine," Jazz snarled. He wasn't sure if it was boredom or exhaustion that made him reckless, but he flung open the comm line. _::How did you get this frequency?::_

_::If you will kindly stop throwing a temper-tantrum, we will leave,::_ a smooth, deep male voice overrode him. _::Now, please be quiet.::_

Jazz was shocked into obedience. The catbot turned and stalked into the guardsmech's booth just past his cell. After a long moment, the humming bars went silent. After another, the cell door unlocked and slid open. The catbot reappeared.

_::How did you get this frequency?::_ Jazz demanded as the catbot approached.

The catobt walked right up to him, reared up on its hind legs, and planted its forepaws on the wall on either side of his head. Jazz rocked back on his heels as much as the chains would allow. His hands curled into fists.

_::Expose your medical port.:: _

Jazz's intake sputtered. _::Excuse me?::_

_::Expose your medical port. Please.:: _The catbot didn't even twitch.

_::Exactly how stupid do you think I am?:: _

The catbot leaned in close and Jazz's processor took the opportunity to remind him that the critter was really, really big for a cassette. And it was very, very unimpressed with his bravado. _::I have made too many sacrifices and come too far to leave you here,::_ it said. _::You are coming back if I have to drag you the entire way, but I believe we would both prefer that you walk. Now, expose your medical port.::_

Jazz's sluggish processor was trying furiously to catch up. He was prepared for torture. He had braced himself for threats and pain and trickery. But these weren't the lies he was expecting.

_::How did you get this frequency?::_ he asked again, faintly this time.

The catbot sighed and briefly closed its optics. _::I was given all the information about you that I would require when I was given this assignment. I will explain when I can, Jazz – but for now, time is of the essence.::_

Jazz fought not to show his surprise when it used his real name. The Decepticons knew him as Solstice, a rookie spy sent to gather intelligence. In reality, the Autobots had all the intel they needed on this particular base, and they had sent one of their more experienced saboteurs to blow it sky-high. But the 'Cons didn't need to know that. As long as they didn't know who he really was, they wouldn't put as much effort into guarding his cell or cracking his firewalls. If they had somehow figured it out, this was certainly an odd way of showing it.

After a brief staring contest, Jazz shifted his chest plating to reveal a medical port. He did _not_ expose the port on his neck that connected to his processor. The one in his chest linked to his physical systems, but those had already been hacked and overridden. It wasn't like the catbot could make things worse. He hoped.

The catbot placed a heavy paw against Jazz's chest and a cable in its wrist connected to the port. His firewalls went berserk, of course, but the catbot sidestepped several of them even as Jazz shut them down. Jazz was impressed. A little. The catbot bowed its head, concentrating, and one by one Jazz's systems began to come online.

The catbot disconnected the cable and reached for the cuffs on Jazz's wrists. Jazz held himself still as cool steel talons brushed his plating and squawked as he fell in a heap at the catbot's feet. The infuriating critter sat down and watched him placidly as his systems finished rebooting.

Jazz gingerly got to his feet. He ran three internal scans and found nothing amiss. He flicked a suspicious glance at the catbot.

_::Well?:: _

_::Let's blow this joint. Where are my weapons?:: _

_::No time for that,::_ the catbot said. _::Come.::_

Jazz staggered after him out of the cell. The catbot crouched beside the brig doors with its head tilted and face blank. _::The corridor is empty. Hurry.::_

Jazz ducked into the guardsmech's booth. He crouched next to the cabinet on the far wall and began picking the lock.

_::Jazz – !::_ The catbot's voice sounded strangled.

Jazz chuckled softly to himself. _::Just a klik, mech – kitty – whatever you are. My favorite energon knives are in there.::_

_::We don't have time for this!:: _

_::Cool yer jets, kitty.::_

He could practically feel the catbot growling as it stalked up behind him. _::We have a very narrow window of time, here, Jazz,:: _it said icily. _::Don't think I wasn't serious about dragging you out of here.::_

The cabinet clicked open. _::Yah-huh, drag away, kitty. But I ain't goin' nowhere with you without these babies.::_ He tucked the faintly glowing blades into his subspace – they'd go back in their usual hiding places later, when the catbot wasn't watching – and collected a few more interesting-looking weapons while he was there. His explosives weren't there, but he hadn't harbored much hope for them anyway. There were three emergency energon rations, though. He quickly downed one of them and the other two joined the weapons in his subspace. He straightened and grinned down at the catbot. _::Lead on.:: _

The catbot bared its teeth again, then turned and left the booth. _::Try to keep up.::_

Wonder of wonders, the corridor was silent and deserted. Jazz was expecting alarms or guards or Megatron himself. He wasn't sure the day could get any weirder. The catbot was a shadow ahead of him. They wound through the dark, twisting corridors without encountering anyone. The brig was in one of the lowest levels of the base, but they worked their way down and down for quite some time before they began to climb again.

Jazz could hardly believe it when they ducked through a hatch and found themselves outside the walls surrounding the compound.

Jazz turned and looked back. "Huh," he said. "Coulda used that goin' in and saved us both a lot of trouble."

_::Hush,::_ the catbot said. _::Follow me.::_

Jazz hurried after the retreating form before it vanished in the darkness. His suspicions of an elaborate trap faded with each step he took away from the brig. Not that he trusted the catbot, of course, but this seemed a little extreme, especially for a 'Con ploy. He felt better with his knives back on his person, one way or the other.

The area surrounding the base had been blasted to slag. It was a satellite base far from any major city, but the 'Cons were taking no chances. The surrounding wilderness had been leveled. There was one road leading in or out and it was high on an embankment with spotlights at regular intervals. Everywhere else looked like a gently rolling plain in the darkness, but in truth it was riddled with trenches, potholes, and craters. The ground was littered with rubble and debris. Oil collected in slimy puddles. Some tar pits bubbled foul gasses into the air, while the more treacherous ones built up a semi-solid film on the surface to fool the unwary. The underground was a warren of caves and tunnels that often had roofs that looked sturdy from above but would crumble under the slightest pressure. It had taken Jazz the better part of two days to approach the base, bolting from one hidey-hole to another like a petrorabbit. Going into that in the dark was suicide.

The catbot didn't even slow down.

_::Are you crazy?::_ Jazz hissed. _::Where are you going?::_

_::Into the wild,::_ the catbot said without turning. _::Follow closely.::_

Jazz stopped in his tracks. _::No way, kitty.::_

The catbot stopped and glared at him over its shoulder.

_::Look, I appreciate you getting' me out and all, I really do,::_ Jazz said, _::but if you wanted to kill me, you coulda just slit my lines back in that cell. No need to get sadistic.:: _

_::I do not want to kill you, Jazz. Quite the contrary. But we must be far away from here by sunrise, or we will both die,::_ the catbot said.

There was an intensity in its voice that hadn't been there before and, against his better judgment, Jazz felt himself being swayed. _::What do you mean?::_ he said slowly.

The catbot flattened its audios against its head. _::We don't have time for this!::_

Jazz crossed his arms defiantly. _::Make time. An' if you wanna try draggin' me, be my guest. But unless you think you can haul me outta here when you're in six different pieces, you'd best start talkin'.::_ He wasn't sure he could do it. The catbot was at least as big as he was, equipped with teeth and talons and Primus knows what other kind of weapons. It also hadn't spent the last five days – or was it six? – chained to a wall in a Decepticon cell with no energon and half its systems fritzed.

To his relief, the catbot decided not to call his bluff. _::Fine,::_ it snarled. _::Listen sharp. You're important to the Autobot cause, but so is destroying this base. When your distress call came in there was a change of plans. The base is still scheduled to be destroyed, but they decided not to risk sending another operative to get captured. Instead, they sent me – :: _

_::If you're not an operative then what are you?:: _

_:: – they sent me to recover you if I could, or offline you peacefully if I couldn't. Strafing begins at dawn.::_

Jazz processor was whirling. He could see the logic of it, presuming the catbot wasn't lying. This base was the lynchpin in a network of 'Con strongholds. If it went down, they would be crippled. He had known that if he failed the Autobots would still go through with the plan with less-subtle-but-still-effective aerial bombing. The decision on whether or not they tried to rescue him before hand would have depended upon a thousand unforeseeable conditions. By the time Jazz had spent three nights in the cell, he had pretty much given up on any hope of rescue and had begun waiting for explosions to rock the compound. It seemed that whoever was in charge had decided to compromise – rather than sending another highly trained special operative to risk falling into enemy hands or getting blown to smithereens, they had sent a cassette. There were cassettes in the Autobot army. There weren't many and Jazz didn't know any personally, but he had heard of them. He wondered how this unlucky catbot had been chosen. It seemed smarter than Jazz thought cassettes were supposed to be. Maybe someone had gotten tired of its snarky attitude.

_::Jazz!::_ The catbot was staring holes in him again.

_::Alright,::_ he said and gave himself a little shake. _::Alright, I'm coming.::_

The catbot looked surprised. _::Just like that?::_

Jazz shrugged. _::The way I see it, either you're telling the truth, you're a Cassetticon sent to screw with my mind, or you're sixteen kinds of crazy. Or some combination of the three. You did get me out of the brig, though, an' I know this place is set to blow, so I figure I'm safer with you than I am back there.::_ He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the base.

It looked him up and down in a manner that was both appraising and maybe a little bit impressed. _::Fair enough. Come on, then.::_

The catbot turned away and Jazz fell in step beside it. _::Lead the way, kitty.::_

Its audios twitched backwards again. _::My name is not 'kitty'.::_

_::Oh? Do tell.::_

The catbot was silent for a long time while they scrambled through ditches and tripped over rubble. Well, Jazz was scrambling and tripping. The catbot glided along as if it were out for an evening stroll. It paused from time to time to let Jazz catch up or to point him towards a smoother path, but otherwise it paid him little attention. Jazz thought it had forgotten or ignored his flippant question.

The sky was getting lighter and the base still seemed too close. They wordlessly picked up the pace. As visibility improved, Jazz grew bolder – or else, as time got shorter, he grew more reckless. The road was a hazy line far off to their left. The base was a bump on the horizon behind them. They paused and looked back when the klaxons blared.

"Think they finally noticed I was gone?" said Jazz.

The catbot snorted disdainfully.

They were halfway down a treacherous slope when the catbot paused midstride and looked up at the dusky purple sky. A few seconds later, Jazz heard jets streaking overhead. He stopped at the crest of the next rise. The grumbling catbot stood beside him.

The grounds surrounding the base lit up with spotlights. They were too far away to see movement, but they could hear a shift in the wailing of the klaxons. There was a smattering of gunfire, but by the time the 'Cons could see the planes it was already far too late.

An early dawn came in the form of orange columns of fire billowing up from what had once been a very important Decepticon base. Jazz was grinning wickedly when the shockwave reached him.

Despite all his training and natural grace, exhaustion had seeped into his struts from the long night of walking and the longer days before that in the brig. He turned a little too slow and would have fallen on his face if the catbot hadn't ducked underneath him. Jazz banged onto its back and then gracelessly fell on his aft. One arm was still draped over the catbot, and he leaned against it and closed his optics without thinking.

"Thanks," he muttered. His voice was hoarse and weak, but it was steadier than it had been back in the brig.

He felt the catbot stiffen. _::You're welcome,::_ it said shortly. The protoform flexed beneath the armor as it turned its head to look behind them. The ground still trembled and the fire was roaring. _::Can you stand?::_ it said. _::We should take cover.:: _

"Yeah," Jazz laughed quietly. "I'm gettin' up, kitty."

The catbot snorted and nearly pushed him over as he struggled to rise. _::You should show me some respect,::_ it said, though not nearly as sharply as it could have. _::I did save your life.::_

"Yes, sir, Mister Kitty, sir!" said Jazz.

It made a huffing sound that could have been laughter or scoffing. _::That is not respect.::_

"Yes . . . ma'am?"

The catbot whirled and cuffed him, very lightly, over the head. It was definitely smirking, now. _::You were closer the first time,::_ it – he – said.

"Well, I still don't know your name."

The catbot sobered and turned away. Sighing, Jazz wobbled to his feet and followed.

They found a pitiful excuse for a cave – it was a gully, really, open at one end and with slabs of rock piled haphazardly on the top to form a roof. They crawled in as the true dawn was breaking. Jazz had tried comming out, but either the Autobots or the Decepticons had scrambled the communications channels. They'd have to wait for a little while longer, and both felt safer when they were less exposed.

Jazz curled up against the back wall and the catbot stretched out in front of the open end with his head between his forepaws. Jazz was exhausted but too keyed up to relax and recharge. If the switching tail-tip was anything to judge by, he was willing to bet that the catbot felt the same. They were quiet for a while, listening to the whining howl of jet engines overhead and the dull roar of the fire. Every now and then they felt and heard a new rumble when fuel or munitions exploded in the ruin of the base. Jazz had almost convinced himself that the catbot had fallen asleep when he lifted his head.

There was another brief staring contest – less hostile but just as intense. The catbot looked down and began sheathing and unsheathing his talons restlessly. He looked up at Jazz again and went perfectly still.

_::My name is Cade.:: _


	2. Chapter 2

Arc One, Part Two

Jazz uncurled with a jerk. He automatically looked up for the source of the deafening roar and for a moment was confused by the rough stone above him.

There was a heavy thump and a clatter nearby. He looked in that direction and saw the silhouette of a catbot crouched at the mouth of the cave. The beastbot crept out a few paces, audios swiveling this way and that. It all came rushing back to Jazz – capture, imprisonment, escape, flight. He got to his feet and warily followed the catbot out of the cave. Several meters away, an oblong metal box was flashing a red light.

"Aw, _slag_," said Jazz. He tugged on the catbot's tail. "We gotta move."

To his credit, the catbot – _Cade_, his name was Cade – turned and cantered after Jazz without hesitation. They had barely made it a few strides before the wave hit them. It wasn't explosive, thank Primus, but it was nearly as bad. Jazz could feel it tingling through his processor.

Cade looked up at him, faceplates wrinkled in confusion, when Jazz stopped. _::Was that it? What happened?::_

Jazz felt his shoulders slumping. "Comm dampener," he grumbled.

Cade tilted his head. _::It obviously didn't work.::_

"Try your long-range."

Golden optics went vacant as he did just that. _::Oh.::_

"Yeah." Jazz sighed and kicked a loose stone. "Seems a bit late for that, though." He looked back at the smoldering ruin of the Decepticon base.

_::They're stranding survivors,::_ said Cade. _::Or, rather, they are flushing them out. The Autobot jets will be watching the road, and now there's no other way for surviving 'Cons to contact aid.::_

"And they'll be pickin' off anyone they see on the road."

Cade nodded.

"And we can't contact them to tell 'em we're on their side."

Cade nodded again.

"Which means they've stranded us, too."

Cade snorted. _::Hardly. How do you think I got here in the first place?::_

A flicker of hope rose in Jazz's spark and he felt a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I'm guessin' you didn't take the road."

_::I did not,::_ he said smugly.

They set off again, following a route known only to Cade. They kept their backs to the base, but the catbot angled them away from the road as well. Whenever they heard a jet approaching, they tucked themselves into whatever hiding place they could find. By noon, they were so streaked with slag and filth that Jazz doubted the jets could see them, anyway.

They stopped to rest in the meager shade of a boulder. Jazz pulled out one of his energon rations and offered Cade half.

The catbot shook his head. _::I will be fine for a few days more. You need it more than I.::_

"How long will it take for us to get to friendly territory?"

_::There is an abandoned Autobot base approximately three days' travel from here. It's where I was dropped off. There should be an emergency beacon or some other form of communicator there.:: _

"Three days driving?"

_::Walking. It is very rugged terrain.::_

Jazz's head thunked against the rock. "Great."

Cade gave him a stern look. _::It is better than imprisonment, I think. Or death.::_

"You're right," Jazz said, giving himself a rough shake. He paused. "I never thanked you."

_::You did,::_ Cade said slowly.

"Not really. Not for risking everything to find me an' get me out. So . . . thank you," Jazz said sincerely, turning to face the catbot fully.

_::You are welcome,::_ said Cade.

They were quiet while Jazz finished his energon and the sun moved slowly across the sky. Before long, they were on the move again. There had been fewer and fewer jets passing by overhead as the morning wore on, and fewer still in the afternoon. The ground itself was still dangerous. Footing was tricky at best, and they couldn't go more than a few paces without zigzagging one way or the other around some obstacle. Jazz kept his head down, watching his own feet and the tip of Cade's tail in front of him. It was midafternoon when Cade stopped suddenly.

Jazz looked up and followed his gaze to the hazy horizon. "What is that?"

_::The forest,::_ said Cade, obvious relief coloring his voice. _::We'll be safer there.::_

Jazz wasn't sold on that. He kept a wary optic on the line of trees as they approached. The ground turned smoother. Tufts of silicagrass bristled amongst the rocks where enough rust and pebbles had collected to give them a foothold. Before long, Jazz was tripping over the half-rusted trunks of irontrees rather than shrapnel.

Cade pressed forward, his tail curling eagerly. Jazz hung back. The treeline was tangled with scrub and the sinking sun cast eerie shadows in the trees. It was utterly silent. When Jazz kicked up a petrorabbit he nearly jumped out of his plating. Cade lunged for it but it quickly outpaced him. It vanished in the grass and the catbot turned back towards the forest.

Jazz grumbled as he fought his way through a thicket of tinbush. Cade had glided through like it was smoke, but the long thorns kept snagging on Jazz's armor and pulling him back.

_::It opens up deeper in,::_ Cade said.

"Are you sure this is even a good idea? I mean, we don't know what sort of things are in here," said Jazz. He unhooked a tendril from his elbow and made it a few paces forward.

_::I have a pretty good idea of what's in here. And I know for sure what's out there. I'll take my chances in the forest, thanks,::_ said Cade.

As if to prove his point, another jet approached. Cade melted into the shadows and Jazz threw himself to the ground. It circled them while Jazz withdrew his energy field and hoped that the brush hid him from sight. After an uncomfortably long time, the roar of its engine faded away in the distance. Jazz crawled the last few meters out of the thicket. Cade reappeared in front of him when he was finally free.

_::I've found a game trail, come on.:: _

Jazz growled.

_::There's an oil stream we can rinse off in just ahead, too. ::_

"I could go for that."

Jazz followed him up a narrow, winding trail. It avoided the worst of the thickets and before long they had left the younger irontrees on the fringe and moved under the massive, ancient patriarchs of the forest. The columns of metal, some of them bigger around than Jazz was tall, reached hundreds of meters in the air. Their trunks were scarred and pitted with time, twined with climbing coppervines, and even spotted with rust in places. The lowest branches were high above his head, making Jazz feel as though he had walked into the ruins of an ancient cathedral.

Jazz was a city mech, sparked and raised in the urban sprawl of Polyhex. He loved the noise and bustle of the city and had never felt the desire to go off adventuring in the wilderness. The forests were dark, mysterious places full of strange creatures. Sure, he had known mechs that enjoyed hiking or camping, but Jazz was happy to just visit a park or garden now and again. But here, standing in the peace and safety of the irontrees, he could almost understand the appeal.

_::If you've finished gawking like an idiot –:: _

Jazz snapped back to reality. Cade had turned around in the path several meters ahead and was giving him a rather unimpressed once-over. Jazz glared at him and started walking again.

"I wasn't gawking. I just – I've never seen irontrees this big before. They're really – I mean, it's impressive." And now he was babbling. Great. As if Cade needed another reason to think he was incompetent.

But the catbot's face softened. _::Yes, they are very impressive. We are fortunate that the Decepticons only harvested or destroyed as many as they did. It will be much harder for anyone to track us by air or by ground.:: _

The trees were nice, but Jazz couldn't help but remain skeptical. "You sure we're better off here? Seems to me like it'd be awful easy to get lost," he said as he fell in step behind Cade again.

_::You're a cityslicker, aren't you?:: _Cade smirked at him over his shoulder.

"No need for name callin', kitty."

The catbot made a rumbling sound that might have been a chuckle. _::As I said, I came through this way. I can find my way back.::_ He gave Jazz another sly look. _::And I promise I'll protect you for all the scary boltbats and alloygators.:: _

He dodged Jazz's kick and ran a few paces ahead.

"Did ya ever think that maybe you got sent on this mission because someone was tryin' to get rid of ya?"

_::Once or twice. Did you think the same?:: _

"You kiddin'? I'm a joy to be around."

_::Except when you're complaining.:: _

"Hey, I've had a rough week."

_::Maybe I didn't get the right Jazz. The one I heard about was supposed to be unfailingly, annoyingly cheerful.::_ The trail made a sharp turn around a boulder. Cade hopped up on it and stared down at Jazz.

"Wait . . . you know me?" Jazz stopped and frowned up at him.

_::We haven't met. But I've heard of you.:: _

"Oh, really?" Jazz sauntered past the rock.

_::Heard you've got a good spark –::_ There was a quiet thump as Cade landed on the trail behind him. _::– but that sometimes you're a pain in the aft.:: _

Something heavy collided with Jazz's back and he tumbled headfirst into an oil pool. He came up sputtering and gave Cade, who was sitting on the bank, an incredulous stare.

"Careful, kitty. I'm beginnin' to think that you might actually have a sense of humor."

_::Lies, all lies.:: _

Cade was examining the talons on one forefoot, or he might have noticed the saboteur's smirk. Quick as a flash, Jazz grabbed him and hauled him into the pool as well. The catbot twisted free and shot for the bank in astroseconds, but there was a film of oil coating him from nose to tail. He retreated a few paces, out of Jazz's reach, and set about cleaning himself with his raspy tongue.

_::Hmph. I would've had to do that, anyway. I'd never get all this slag off otherwise.:: _

"Keep tellin' yerself that," Jazz said as he flicked a few droplets at the catbot.

Jazz pulled up a handful of silicagrass to scrub himself with and a companionable silence fell between them. The oil was thin and nearly transparent, very unlike the refined stuff Jazz was used to. Still, it suited his own purposes well enough and before long Jazz could see the dull black of his own armor under all the grime. He sat on the edge of the pool and stretched out his sensor net while his hands kept up their mindless task.

There were no jets, friend or foe – or alloygators, either – that he could find. He got a few faint sparkreadings around him, but nothing of the size or frequency that would suggest a mech. It was probably petrorabbits or the razorsnakes that hunted them, or some other wild thing that Jazz couldn't identify. The edge of his net brushed Cade's energy field. He glanced at the catbot, found him absorbed in the bristles at the end of his tail, and prodded the field carefully.

Jazz was subtle. He had no doubts about that. He wouldn't have survived in special ops very long if he wasn't. But he had barely gotten a sparkreading – faint for a mech but not unusual for a cassette – before Cade froze and slanted a look at him.

Jazz pretended to be absorbed in his cleaning. Cade was having none of it.

_::Jazz.:: _

Jazz picked at a particularly stubborn spot on his left foot.

Cade sighed. _::Look, I know you don't trust me but –::_

"It's not that."

Cade tilted his head.

"I'm just trying to figure you out," said Jazz.

Cade's head tilted the other way. _::Why?::_

"What?"

_::Why are you trying to figure me out?:: _

Jazz gave him a curious look. "Because it looks like you're gonna be my only company for the next few days . . . ?"

_::Oh.::_ Cade seemed genuinely surprised. _::Why does that matter?::_

"Why wouldn't it?"

Cade studied him for a long moment before turning back to washing his tail.

"Cade? Why wouldn't it matter?"

Cade turned that penetrating stare on him again. _::We are only here because of circumstance. It is unlikely that we will ever see each other again once this mission is over. Why bother?::_

"Wow, you really suck at making friends, don't you?" said Jazz.

Cade flinched and turned away.

"Sorry. I didn't mean that t' be . . . y'know."

The bristly end of Cade's tail got bristlier. _::Why should I tell you anything, anyway?::_ he said.

Jazz put up both hands in surrender. "Hey, I'm just tryin' to be friendly."

_::By spying on me?:: _

Jazz chuckled. "Well, kitty, that's practically the unofficial spec ops handshake."

Cade gave him a skeptical look but did not reply.

Jazz gave up on getting any cleaner before Cade did. He swished his feet in the oil and leaned back on his elbows, peering up at the lattice of branches overhead. It was nearing sunset, but Jazz guessed that Cade would want to move deeper into the forest before they holed up for the night. At least he hoped that they stopped when it got dark. Jazz's visor gave him better night vision than most, but one nighttime journey through inhospitable territory had been enough for him.

Cade stood up and walked to the edge of the pool. He lapped up a mouthful of oil, swished it around, and then spat it back out.

_::I believe I remember an energon spring around here somewhere. Let's try to reach that before we stop for the night,::_ he said.

"Sounds good t' me."

_::Oh, before I forget . . .::_ he added distractedly.

Cade marched up to Jazz and didn't stop until they were almost nose to nose. Jazz consciously willed himself not to cringe back. Cade studied his face for a moment, then tucked his chin down and bumped his forehead against Jazz's. With a satisfied nod to himself, swung around Jazz and headed off down the trail.

"Um . . ." Jazz said intelligently as he got to his feet.

_::Catbot handshake.:: _

"Oh. Of course."

They found the energon stream shortly before nightfall. Like the oil, it was thin and weak, but it was better than nothing. Cade daintily stepped around the clusters of crystals growing on the banks and down into the streambed. He drank for a long time while Jazz pulled out his final emergency ration, divided it between the three cubes and cut the rations with the natural energon. He returned two of the cubes to his subspace and sipped the third. It wouldn't have taken him so long to recover from his energy loss while imprisoned if he hadn't been walking for most of the day. He hoped he'd have enough fuel to reach the rendezvous point at the old base, assuming they managed to get a message to the Autobots.

Cade scouted around until he found a fallen irontree that had begun to rust on one side. It was nothing but a brittle shell in some places, but Jazz moved some branches to make a rough lean-to where part of the shell formed a roof. Cade climbed on top of one of the studier portions close to their shelter and watched the darkening forest.

There was a steady drone of insectobots in the background. The forest that had seemed dead in the daylight came alive with little sounds and lights. Jazz kept still and watched as various night creatures crept up to the stream to drink. A pair of cyberhounds brought their litter of rowdy pups. A starbuck, his head crowned with gleaming chrome antlers, appeared like a ghost and then disappeared just as quickly when Cade shifted and coughed. Boltbats swooped through the trees, catching flying things too small for Jazz to see.

A high, sobbing wail had Jazz pulling an energon blade out of subspace. Cade got to his feet as everything else in the forest fell silent. The wail was answered by another off in the distance. The catbot sniffed the air and then folded himself up again.

_::Turbofoxes,::_ he said.

_::Makes my plating crawl,::_ Jazz said via comm, reluctant to break the quiet.

_::They won't bother us.:: _

Jazz settled down. He wondered if it would be appropriate to mention that he had a friend who used to hunt turbofoxes, considering his current companion would be considered fair game to some people as well. Had Cade been born as a wild thing and willingly or unwillingly submitted himself to the Autobots? Were the turbofoxes Mirage had hunted just as quick-witted and insightful as he? Jazz wasn't sure he wanted to know.

_::How do you know all this?::_ he asked to distract himself.

Cade was silent for so long that Jazz thought he wouldn't answer, then, _::My mother, Tigerwalk, took me hunting when I was young.::_

_::So . . . did you grow up . . . here?::_ Jazz gestured at the forest at large.

_::In the wilderness like this?::_ Again, he hesitated before answering. _::No. I am from Praxus.::_

That wasn't something Jazz had expected. Praxus wasn't a metropolis like Polyhex, but it was still a large city – not exactly the sort of place he'd expect to find a catbot. _::So you didn't – I mean, you weren't –:: _

_::We were . . . domesticated, you might say,::_ said Cade, apparently taking pity on Jazz.

_::Ah,::_ was all Jazz could think to say.

_::Are you bothered by that?::_ Cade said.

_::Not really. It's just – it seems kinda weird, ya know?:: _

_::It is normal for my people. Better to be a captive than a trophy.::_

Jazz winced. That answered that. _::Yeah, but – you're sentient. Pit, you're _sapient_.:: _

_::Yes. I chose this life.:: _

_::It just . . . it seems an awful lot like slavery to me,::_ said Jazz.

Cade was silent again for a while. _::Some mechs can be cruel,::_ he said slowly. _::I am fortunate in that I have never been subservient to anyone who was less than fair. And if anyone were to try to mistreat me, I am capable of defending myself.::_ His voice deepened into a growl.

Jazz chuckled. _::I don't doubt that.::_

_::Don't worry about me, Jazz. I am remarkably well-off.:: _

Jazz smiled at Cade's gentler tone. _::I don't know many cassettes,::_ he said. _::I guess I've never really thought about how you live.::_

Cade didn't have an answer for that, so Jazz filled this silence by talking about himself. He was the youngest of five, which seemed to fascinate Cade. He told about all the funny and interesting things he and his siblings had done. He counted it as a victory whenever he heard Cade's soft laughter.

Finally, when it was fully dark and the moons had risen, Jazz succumbed to his exhaustion.

* * *

**A/N:** Alloygators are canon critters. I couldn't have resisted using the pun even if I'd wanted to.

If you have never heard the scream of a red fox (and you don't plan on sleeping tonight) there are various videos on YouTube. It is a very disturbing sound.

The definitions of sentience and sapience are vague and the line between them is vaguer still, but I am going by what I was taught. Sentience is consciousness, or an organism's ability to sense the world around it. Sapience is wisdom, or an organism's ability to use reason and think abstractly; it is generally believed to be unique to humans. We could argue about it all day, but for the sake of this fic let us assume that humans (or human analogs – Transformers, in this case) are both sentient and sapient whereas most other animals (beastbots/cassettes) are sentient but not sapient.


	3. Chapter 3

Arc One, Part Three

Cade roused him before it was fully light. They drank from the stream before setting out. They followed a meandering game trail until it petered out around midmorning. Cade cast about to get his bearings and then struck out in a southerly direction.

They made good time, according to Cade. The trees were widely spaced and the ground was carpeted with silicagrass. It still wasn't smooth enough to transform and drive, much to Jazz's annoyance, but it was much easier to travel on foot. The two alternated walking and jogging for most of the day. They didn't talk much, but the silence was more companionable than the previous day. Jazz was almost sure he trusted the catbot.

Since Cade was a less than chatty critter, Jazz found himself humming and then singing to himself as they walked. He half expected Cade to shush him, but the catbot didn't object. He never commented, though he swiveled one audio around backwards to listen.

Jazz was glad for the energon stream they had found the day before, because the diluted rations were his only fuel source. Again, Cade refused the fuel. He left Jazz in another lean-to as darkness was falling. Jazz dozed until the catbot returned.

_::Nothing,::_ Cade grumbled, tucking himself into their little shelter. _::I can't smell any seeps or springs. The only energon around here must be very deep.::_

_::I've still got half a cube,::_ said Jazz.

Cade made a face and Jazz felt the prickle of scans across his plating. _::You still aren't functioning at full capacity,::_ said Cade.

_::Yes, mother, I noticed.:: _

Cade gave him a stern, disappointed look that would not have been unusual for a mother. _::It will take at least another day and a half to reach the base. It will likely be even longer until we can count on aid from our factionmates.::_

_::Well, it's not like I can do anything about it,::_ Jazz snapped, nettled by his weakness.

_::It may be necessary for you to consider . . . unconventional fuel sources,::_ Cade said carefully.

_::What sources?::_ Jazz said warily.

_::The energon in a living mechanism is much more concentrated than that found in pools and streams,::_ said Cade, pointedly ignoring Jazz's expression. _::If I cannot find any other source, I can at least catch a petrorabbit or two.::_

_::Only as a last resort,::_ said Jazz.

Cade shrugged. _::It may come to that.::_

Jazz recharged fitfully after that. Cade had a point, of course. It had been part of his survival training in bootcamp, and he had certainly done plenty of unsavory things since then, but Jazz still wasn't keen on drinking the fuel from the lines of another living creature. Cade was unsympathetic. He recharged beside Jazz for most of the night, but when Jazz awoke just before dawn he was gone. Jazz was too exhausted to worry about him and went back to sleep again.

When he onlined again, the sun had risen. He automatically extended his sensor net before he opened his optics. The forest was practically deserted compared to the Autobot base Jazz was used to. But there was something unexpected.

Cade hit the ground with a heavy thud. He seemed only mildly annoyed by Jazz pinning him down, but he went very still when he felt the energon bade against his throat cables. _::Easy, brother,::_ he growled softly.

Jazz ran over the data in his processor again, but Cade had withdrawn his energy field and was watching the saboteur warily.

_::It's just me, Jazz,::_ Cade said.

"That so? Your spark signature seems a little . . . off this morning."

There was a flicker of expression on Cade's face that might have been dawning horror. _::It's the same as it's always been,::_ he said, expression bland once more.

Jazz analyzed his readings again. "No," he said coldly. "It's definitely different. And it's reading like a Transformer's."

_::You've just onlined, Jazz. I think you might be confused. Check again.:: _

Sure enough, Cade's sparkreadings were far too weak to be a mech's. But they had been much stronger just moments ago. "Nice try," said Jazz. "My scanners ain't confused."

_::Jazz –:: _

"So what, you just woke up this morning and decided you didn't want to be a cassette anymore? Who are you, really?"

_::Jazz, I'm serious –:: _

"So am I! Answer me!" Jazz snarled.

_::Just as I told you. My name is Cade. I am an Autobot. My mission is to –:: _

"Tell me the truth."

_::I am.:: _

"You're not a cassette. You can't be. What are you?"

_::I am a catbot.:: _

"I got that part, thank ya kindly."

Cade clicked his teeth and didn't say anything.

Jazz leaned closer, almost nose to nose with the . . . thing. "Folks got secrets to keep. I get that; I do. But you're gonna have to give me somethin' more than your word that you're an Autobot – or at least that you're not gonna tuck me away somewhere and hack my processor before you offline me."

A growl rumbled in Cade's chest. _::If I'd wanted you hacked or offlined don't you think I could have done that a hundred times over by now?::_

"Not if you're someone else's lackey and you can't do it yourself."

Cade's paws gripped his shoulders, but he obviously didn't dare strike with the blade at his throat. _::You were just saying that I wasn't a cassette. Make up your mind before you start accusing me of implausible things.::_

Jazz pressed just a little harder on the knife to make Cade squirm. "If you lied about your species, why should I believe what you say about – oh, I dunno – your allegiance, for starters?"

_::As I told you, I have no way of proving my allegiance, as you do not have the clearance for the information. And I didn't lie about anything.:: _

"You're lying now," Jazz growled. A trickle of energon slid down Cade's neck.

_::I omitted truths but I told no falsities. You, of all people, should be able to find reason for that.:: _

He had a very good point, of course, but that didn't make Jazz any more inclined to trust him. "Well, you'd better start fillin' in some of the gaps for me." Jazz could feel talons pricking his shoulders. "And I could slit these lines before you could twitch that tail of yours, so don't try anything, kitty."

Cade snorted_. ::I have no doubt that you could, but it would be your own death warrant.::_

"I think I'm a bit more resourceful than you give me credit for."

_::You _think_? Are you willing to bet your life on that, Jazz?::_ said Cade. _::Maybe you could plot a course out of here, but you'd never have the energy to make it that far.:: _

Jazz studied bright pink fluid against grey armor. "I'm resourceful."

Cade actually laughed. _::You didn't even want to think about drinking from a common petrorabbit, but now that you believe I'm more than your average catbot you say you'd have no problem scavenging my energon? Doubtful.::_

"Aren't you more than your average catbot?" said Jazz.

_::I said I wouldn't lie to you, and I didn't. We're going in circles. Either let me up or kill me.:: _

"I'll let you up when you answer my question."

_::You're wasting valuable time,::_ Cade growled.

"And you're hedging. What – _are_ – you?!"

Cade was silent.

"Well, you said you didn't lie to me, but now you won't answer me, so that's practically an admission that you lied earlier," said Jazz.

_::I didn't –!:: _

"Fine, fine. You misled. Stop dancing around the issue."

Cade snarled. _::Fine, but you're not going to believe me.::_

Jazz smirked. "Try me."

Cade took a deep breath, bared his teeth, and let it out in a low hiss. _::I'm a Maximal.::_

Jazz's rolled his optics reflexively. "And I'm Unicron."

_::I wouldn't find that surprising,::_ Cade muttered.

"The truth, kitty." The knife pressed a little deeper.

_::If I were going to lie, I'd at least try something more plausible than a sub-species of Transformer that's supposedly been extinct for generations, don't you think? Give me some credit.:: _

"Sometimes one big lie is better than a dozen small ones," said Jazz.

_::Oh, _fine_.::_ Cade's energy field abruptly shifted. _::You were right. My sparkreadings were different. I use a dampener as part of my disguise, but it's an energy drain. I had turned it off while I was hunting and forgot to turn it back on when I approached you.:: _

"Rookie mistake."

Cades optics narrowed. _::It won't happen again.::_

"How old are you?"

_::Fifty-six vorns.:: _

Jazz raised an optic ridge. That was only slightly more than his own forty-eight vorns, and significantly younger than Ratchet or Ironhide. It was also much, much younger that the last recorded Maximal, who had died before Jazz's grandsire was sparked.

"You're lookin' pretty spry for an extinct sub-species."

_::I said _supposedly_ extinct. As you can see, I am quite alive,::_ said Cade.

"So . . . what, you just lived the good life as somebody's pet?"

_::The reasons my people are in hiding are long, numerous, and above your pay grade.:: _

"Then why'd you come out of hiding to join the war?"

_::Because Megatron is a lunatic who must be stopped. And I am still quite hidden – from most Autobots, at least,:: _he said._ ::Like I told you, you don't have the clearance for me to tell you much. Suffice it to say that I am useful. My situation is unique. People on both sides underestimate me and I can find out all kinds of things a normal soldier couldn't.:: _

Jazz thought about how he'd talked to Cade at the energon stream. He had talked about his childhood, his family – shared things he didn't usually share with anyone, much less strangers. But he had trusted Cade. He _wanted_ to trust Cade. Jazz's instincts were rarely wrong, but Cade's story was hard to swallow. Jazz ran a few more scans. This time, Cade didn't resist.

His readings were . . . odd. It was as though someone had mixed Transformer and beastbot features randomly and stuck them in a single frame. Jazz had never encountered anything like it. The only thing Jazz could be sure of was that Cade wasn't a drone; his spark pulsed strong and true beneath his plating.

Cade was watching the shifting expressions on Jazz's face. He sighed again and his chest plating shifted to reveal the crimson autobrand just above his spark. _::I cannot offer you any proof other than this and my own word,::_ he said. _::I am on your side, Jazz, and I am trying to help you. You're putting both of us in danger by refusing me.::_

Jazz sat back on his heels. "By rights, I shouldn't trust you," he said slowly. "But – Primus frag me for a glitching fool – I do." He returned the knife to his subspace.

Cade didn't move. If anything, his hold on Jazz's shoulders tightened. He narrowed his optics again, as if he could will himself to see straight through Jazz's visor and optics and into his spark. _::You are a very strange individual, Autobot Jazz,::_ he said.

"Yeah, well, I guess that makes you lucky. If I was a 'normal' soldier, I'd have taken my chances with killing you, I think," said Jazz.

_::Primus bless you for your merciful spark.:: _

Jazz didn't hear any sarcasm in Cade's voice, but he couldn't help but smirk anyway. "Guess that makes us even."

Cade squirmed free of him and got to his feet. He studied Jazz with his head tilted to one side. _::Yes,::_ he said. _::I suppose it does.::_

The catbot whirled around without another word. In three strides, he was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

Arc One, Part Four

Jazz was a fool. A glitching, Pit-bound fool who thought with his spark instead of his processors and deserved his eventual fate for such stupidity. He'd trusted Cade because he _wanted_ to, not because he _should_, and just look at where that got him – abandoned in the wilderness, lost, and underfueled.

He'd spent most of the morning trying to follow the catbot. He was well aware of the ridiculousness of that attempt. Cade didn't leave much of a trail, and Jazz wasn't that great at tracking, even if he had. So he went in the same general direction the catbot had run off in and followed such vague signs as a few snapped twigs and an overturned clump of substrate. It didn't come as much of a surprise when he gave up and admitted that he was lost and that the catbot wouldn't be found if he didn't want to be.

He tried comming him a few times, but the catbot was either ignoring him or out of range.

After that, he settled himself on a fallen tree and basked in the sunlight that filtered down through the opening in the canopy. He took out his final half a cube and sipped it slowly. The combination of sunlight and energon boosted his energy reading a disappointingly small amount, but Jazz was willing to take what he could get. When his fuel was gone and the sun had shifted behind the branches again, he set off once more.

Cade had been leading them southwards for the past two days, so that's the way Jazz went. He found a game trail and was feeling pretty pleased with himself as afternoon wore on. Maybe he could do this. If he could just reach the base before he ran out of power, he could comm the Autobots and find a safe place to go into stasis while he waited for help to arrive. Jazz was nothing if not resourceful. Sure, he hadn't been in this exact situation before, but he could adapt. It's what he was good at. Besides, Cade had practically told him where the base was. If he kept going he would probably run into it.

The game trail petered out into nothing and abandoned him in the middle of a huge snarlwire thicket. Cursing to himself, Jazz was forced to backtrack until he could get out of it, then follow the perimeter of the thicket until he could head south again. By the time he had gotten around it, darkness was falling and there wasn't a trail in sight.

The forest had seemed beautiful, almost magical, that first night by the energon stream. The wild creatures were strange, certainly, but not scary. Jazz had been pleased to discover that he was perfectly fine and there was nothing to fear in the woods.

That fearlessness, he soon realized, was conditional upon the presence of a sturdy shelter over his head and a confidant catbot by his side. It seemed darker, even with his visor properly adjusted. There were countless little things moving and calling on the fringe of his sensor net where he couldn't get a good reading on them. The turbofoxes had started up their laughing, sobbing screeches, which didn't help matters in the slightest.

Jazz knew he would feel better with a roof over his head, no matter how flimsy. But this time, there were no continent caves or fallen trees. He had to make do with a bundle of limbs propped against a thick irontree with a few swaths of tall silversedge for a roof. It was rather pitiful, but it was better than nothing. Jazz curled up and spent a long time trying to ignore the hunger and nervousness roiling through his tanks before he finally drifted offline.

His internal scanners woke him. Some alarm was going off, warning him that his energy levels were at the threshold of secondary systems shutdown and he really, really ought to refuel. He shut it off with somewhat more force than was strictly necessary. Grumbling about failsafes and regulations and the universe in general, Jazz rolled over and onlined his optics – and found a curious pair of orange optics staring right back at him.

For one brief but joyous moment he thought that Cade had returned. But when he sat up the optics retreated and there seemed to be more shuffling and snuffling going on than he remembered, so Jazz took a second look. It was a cyberhound. Correction, it was a pack of cyberhounds. It looked like a mated pair and three – make that four – of their mostly-grown offspring. They didn't seem particularly aggressive, but they were curious, fearless, and they had him completely encircled.

Jazz stood up, knocking down his silly little structure in the process, and shouted while brandishing one of his knives. Six pairs of orange optics retreated with nervous little growls, but the exertion took more out of him than he thought it would. He slumped against a tree, trembling, as his processor cranked out a few more warnings. He deleted them all viciously and when he looked up one of the smaller cyberhounds was slinking closer again. He slashed at it and it darted back again, squealing.

Jazz leaned against the tree. His hands were shaking. He didn't dare try to run. The cyberhounds were faster and they were programmed to chase things. Prey. He was prey to them. They had no qualms with dragging him down and tearing him to pieces to get at his few remaining resources. Jazz giggled. It wasn't exactly the way he'd thought he'd go.

There was a cyberhound sniffing of his ankle. He kicked at it, but it dodged him and he nearly fell down. It backed a few paces away and sat down on its haunches, watching him with its tongue lolling out of its mouth.

"What're you . . . grinnin' at . . . huh, mutt?"

It stopped panting and tilted its head when he spoke. Then it whined and stood up, wagging its tail eagerly.

A heavy weight slammed into Jazz's shoulder and pinned him to the tree. Blunt claws scrabbled at his armor and warm breath gusted on the exposed cables of his neck. He slashed blindly with the knife. Hot liquid spattered on his hand and the weight fell back with an awful squall. A cyberhound staggered away from him while bright pink energon dripped from a wound in its abdominal plating. The rest of the pack shifted uneasily. Growls and whines filled the air around him.

This wouldn't do. This wouldn't do at all. He was surrounded and exposed. The cyberhounds had learned to fear his knife, but they would lose that respect as he grew weaker. His own body was failing him. All they had to do was wait. Eventually, he would be too weak to hold the knife.

Jazz pinged Cade's comm again but received no reply.

He studied his surroundings with as much focus as his slowing processor would allow. The pack had him encircled. They were keeping themselves well out of his reach. The wounded one occasionally whimpered to itself and licked its belly. He didn't doubt that it could rouse itself when the time came. His only shelter was the tree he leaned against. He'd selected it for its girth rather than its height. It was an unusual specimen, growing thick and sprawling rather than tall like its neighbors. He'd chosen it merely for the sake of having something sturdy to put his back against, but now it might very well save his life. At least, he hoped so.

Keeping his sensor net tuned to the pack, he circled the irontree until he found its lowest branch. It was a long, spindly outgrowth about even with his chin. Under normal circumstances, he could have hopped up on it without a second thought. Circumstances as they were, it took him three tries to wrap his hands around it and walk himself up the trunk. He stopped to catch his breath once he'd done it. The pack sniffed around curiously and he could feel the branch trembling beneath him. Time to move.

He worked his way higher, branch by branch, knowing that one slip would be fatal. The pack clustered around the tree, snuffling around and watching him. He stopped two meters above their heads and was tempted to throw a knife into their midst to remind them that he, too, had fangs, but he dared not risk a miss. And besides, even if he did hit one, he'd be short a knife. He settled with shouting a few insults and concentrating on climbing higher.

He found a sturdy fork a comfortable height above the ground and settled in. He activated the magnets on his hands and feet and took a moment to write a few lines of code that ensured that they stayed activated even if everything else went offline. He took stock of his weapons. He pinged Cade again (no response, big surprise). He tried to comm his home base and got only static (again, big surprise). He looked down at the cyberhounds to make sure they hadn't tried any funny business. All six were present and accounted for and still on the ground. He triple-checked his magnets, set an alarm to go off in half a joor, and forced himself into recharge.

He awoke in half a joor to find one of the cyberhounds taking a running jump at the tree. It didn't come anywhere close to his perch, so he dozed off again.

In another half a joor it – or possibly another, he couldn't exactly tell – had figured out how to build up enough momentum to run up the trunk for a meter or so. He watched it until it managed to hook its paws over the lowest branch, then he shouted and chuckled when it fell off and landed with a thump and a squeal. It limped away and he recharged again.

When he awoke again it was suspiciously quiet. Four of the cyberhounds were napping and the other two were lounging about. Apparently, they weren't concerned with him going anywhere. He broke off a twig and threw it at one of them just for spite, then went back to recharge when it scrambled to its feet barking furiously.

On the next half-joor they were all awake and the one he'd thrown the stick at was still squabbling with another one. Presumably, it blamed its packmate for the stick and their fussing was keeping the others awake. Jazz was perfectly happy to rest while they couldn't, so he dozed off again.

After that, they had quieted down but weren't really offline. He took the opportunity to figure out how to tell them apart. It might come in handy. And he was bored. They all ended up with names like Halftail and Crookednose. He recharged for the usual time and then quizzed himself. He got Big Momma and Silver mixed up, so he threw another stick and went back to sleep. He tried it again when he woke up and was inordinately pleased with himself when he got them all right.

The night passed very slowly. Jazz was so bored and uncomfortable he almost forgot to be afraid. His energy levels were steadily dropping, but he bought himself some time with his short, frequent recharges. He concentrated on surviving until sunrise, when the cyberhounds would give up and go home and he could figure out what to do about his lack of energon then.

At least, that's what he kept telling himself.

He fell into recharge, ignored three alarms and awoke on the fourth to find Twosocks halfway up the tree. It was slow, awkward going. Cyberhounds were obviously not made to climb trees. He kept very still, gripping his knife, and watched it carefully step from branch to branch. It got stuck two meters below him and dithered on a branch for three breems while Jazz thought he would scream from frustration. Finally, it found a way to the next branch. It made it to the one below his fork and reared up, propping its paws on the trunk beside his head. Jazz was reminded uncomfortably of Cade. The beastbot leaned towards him and he forced himself to stay still. Just as its snout touched his helm, he redirected all available power to his left arm and lashed out with the knife.

When Jazz's optical and auditory sensors booted back up, he found Twosocks gurgling and twitching on the ground with his knife sunk to the hilt in its throat. He complimented himself on a job well done and went back to sleep.

His tactile sensors refused to boot up when next he came online, but he could see that his magnets were still working and the five remaining cyberhounds were on the ground where they should be, so he wasn't terribly concerned. He slept for three joors without setting an alarm.

When he came up again – still without tactile sensors and now without olfactory ones as well – three of the pack were up the tree and the other two were trying to follow. Jazz watched in dumb horror as they crept towards him, step by shaky step. He didn't have enough knives for all of them. He didn't have the strength to wield a knife, anyway. It was dawn and the cyberhounds were moving in for the kill. Jazz could have laughed at his own stupidity if he had the energy to do so.

At first, he thought his optics were fritzing. A black shadow appeared out of nowhere and bowled over Halftail, one of the cyberhounds still on the ground. There was a scuffling noise, a sharp metallic screech, and Halftail went still. It had all happened too fast for the other cyberhound– Licker, the one with the wounded abdomen, by the looks of it – to respond, but when it lunged the shadow knocked it aside, clamped down on its throat and gave it a good shake. The shadow tossed the cyberhound away and Licker fell over in a widening pool of energon.

Big Momma and Crookednose responded furiously. They lunged out of the tree with their lone remaining offspring. They circled the shadow, baying and biting. The shadow clawed at them and snarled like Pitspawn. When Crookednose lost its nose – along with half of its face – Big Momma and Silver decided to cut their losses. They fled, leaving the cooling frames of their fallen (Licker was still kicking) and a shadow with a lashing tail.

Cade looked up at Jazz. _::You really are an inordinate amount of trouble, you know.::_

Jazz laughed, sobbed, and almost had time to say something witty before his processor informed him that he was going into emergency stasis, effective immediately.


	5. Chapter 5

Arc One, Part Five

"Whoa, there! Take it easy, soldier."

Jazz was getting really tired of coming out of recharge not knowing where he was. There was a stone floor beneath him, a metal ceiling above him, and an unfamiliar set of faceplates looming uncomfortably close to his own. Jazz had a deathgrip on an equally unfamiliar arm, but the stranger in question had shoulder patches with the familiar red-on-white glyphs of an Autobot medic. Jazz relaxed his grip marginally.

"It's alright," the medic said. "You're safe. We received your distress signal and responded immediately, but you've taken very good care of yourself, given the circumstances. You'll make a full recovery. Just get some rest and let us get your energy levels back up to normal, okay?"

Jazz nodded weakly and released the mech more out of necessity than trust. There were several other mechs bustling around him. The one he'd grabbed was inserting a direct-line tube of concentrated energon into a line in his arm. Another mech was kneeling on his other side, fiddling with what appeared to be a home-made version of the same thing cobbled together from a used energon cube, a battered length of hose that could have come from anything, and what appeared to be a branch from an irontree, all held together with coppervines. Jazz had never seen such a thing before in his life, and he was pretty sure he'd remember if someone had come at his energy lines wielding . . . that.

"Wh'r 'm I?" he muttered thickly. "'Ow'd ya fin' me?"

The mech managed to disconnect the hodgepodge contraption and clamped off his lines. "Autobot base Sixty-seven Delta," he said cheerfully. "Abandoned for three vorns but stocked with emergency beacons for situations just like this, luckily for you."

"We received a distress signal with your security codes two days ago," said the first mech. "Command dispatched scouts first, of course. They reported back that they'd found you here. You were offline but uninjured and appeared to be stable. They sent us in and you woke up as soon as I touched you. Nifty little direct-line you've got here, by the way. It probably saved your life."

Jazz had no answer for that. He didn't remember making it. He didn't remember sending the distress signal or even reaching the base. The last thing he remembered was . . .

"Cade," he said hoarsely.

"What's that?"

"Ya di'n't . . . . There wa'n't anyone else here?"

"The scouts were very thorough, Jazz." The medic patted his shoulder. "No one followed you here. You are safe."

Jazz sent a ping to Cade's comm channel but received no reply. He looked around the room in which he'd found himself while the medics ran their scans.

It was a large, plain room. A bank of outdated monitors and control panels lined the far wall, the old metal dull under a film of dust. Rusted brackets on the other walls showed where other equipment had hung. There was a supply closet with grimy shelves in one corner, its battered door leaning drunkenly against the sill. The emergency beacon sitting on the floor beside him looked woefully out of place. Its metal housing was newer and its layer of dust was finer. Clean streaks and spots showed where it had been handled, and a single green light pulsed steadily. Jazz was certain he'd never seen any of it before.

He returned his gaze to the ceiling, willing himself to think about anything other than the increasingly intrusive medical scans. His energy levels were stable enough for him to stay online for a while. According to his chronometer, he had last offlined a little over a full day ago. On a whim, he checked his GPS and found that he had offlined less than three kilometers from his current location. If he had walked just a little bit faster, traveled just a little bit longer, he could have barricaded himself safely in the base instead of spending a night straight from the Pit with his aft up a tree and cyberhounds slavering below.

Jazz gave a strangled laugh that came out very much like a sob. The medic asked him several pointed questions before once again reassuring him that he was safe and telling him that he would feel much better with some rest. Jazz took the hint and offlined his visor and several secondary systems before the medics took it upon themselves to tranquilize him. His processor was still churning, but he could think of only one answer to all of his questions.

Cade.

Cade had come back for him and driven off the cyberhounds. Cade had brought him the last few kilometers to the abandoned base. _He did keep threatening to drag me_, thought Jazz. Cade had set the beacon to broadcast his emergency signal. Cade had made the direct-line and filled it with energon, likely from a cyberhound – Jazz wasn't fooling himself; he had been so far gone that raw energon probably wouldn't have kept him alive, and the stuff in the cube had been vibrant pink. Cade had guarded him until the scouts arrived and then vanished like smoke. If a mid-ranked special operative like Jazz didn't have the clearance to know Cade's background, the grunts in the rescue team probably shouldn't know that the catbot even existed. He had helped Jazz, but he didn't put himself at risk. The whole thing stank of the catbot's ruthless practicality.

"When did ya say ya got my signal?" Jazz asked suddenly and felt the medic beside him flinch.

"It was, uh, about two days ago."

_Two days ago_ . . . . Two days ago, Jazz and Cade had fought and the catbot had run off. _He didn't abandon me,_ Jazz realized. _He went ahead to set the beacon 'cause he knew that otherwise I wouldn't last until the rescue team got here. Fragger could've _said so_, though,_ he thought fiercely. Cade had probably expected to find Jazz where he'd left him and then spent most of the night tracking him down, only to have to fight off a pack of cyberhounds once he reached him. _No wonder he was grumpy. _Jazz felt sheepish before he could stop himself. The glitch may not have had any social skills, but he went above and beyond to keep Jazz alive.

Jazz pinged his comm fruitlessly one more time. Cade might have been ignoring him, or he might have just been out of range. _I'll find a way to counter those long-range dampeners if it's the last thing I do._

"I think he's offline again," someone said quietly above him.

Jazz cracked one optic open and his visor flickered to life.

"Or maybe not," the medic said with wry amusement. "We're ready to move you, now," he said to Jazz. "We'll take you back to your home base."

"Great." Ratchet was going to be _thrilled_ to see him in such a sorry state.

The medic missed the sarcasm. "We thought you'd be more comfortable in familiar surroundings," he said with a gentle smile and Jazz didn't have the spark to correct him.

The magnanimous feeling vanished when he realized that the other medic had just inserted a sedative in his direct-line.

Joors later, once again, Jazz came online somewhere very different from the place he'd gone offline. But he recognized Ratchet's med bay even before his systems were fully operational. It was dark and quiet, save for the dim lights and soft hum of the monitors surrounding his berth. Jazz craned his neck to look at the displays. Once reassured that their readings matched his own internal scans and that, yes, he really was fine but for a few scuffs and low energy readings, he settled back on the most comfortable resting place he'd had in what seemed like a very long time and tried to go back to sleep.

A persistent, annoying thought niggled him. Finally, with a sigh, he gave in and tried his comm – and nearly jumped out of his plating when he received a response.

_::I thought you were supposed to be resting, Jazz,::_ said Cade.

_::I am,::_ said Jazz, remembering that catbots were often more trouble than they were worth_. ::I'm lyin' down and everything.:: _

_::You'd better stay that way,::_ said Cade. _::I won't have you undoing all my hard work.::_

Jazz was tempted to get up and run a lap around the med bay just for spite, but he was really very comfortable and it would be a shame to leave such a soft, warm berth. Maybe he could just tweak a few of the monitors –

_::Don't even think about it.:: _

_::I wasn't – !:: _

_::Ratchet will be very angry if I have to wake him up,::_ Cade said sternly. _::I would hate for him to have to take his annoyance out on you.:: _

_::Don't wanna face him yourself, scaredycat?::_ Jazz asked, spreading out his sensor net and casting a few subtle scans around the room.

_::I, alas, am far beyond the reach of the Hatchet's wrath.::_

Jazz wondered if it was a trait of all catbots or Cade's particular talent that he could infuse one simple sentence with so much smugness. _::I'm gonna tell him you said that.:: _

_::I doubt it would improve his temper any if you told him that your imaginary friend was calling him names.:: _

_::If you were my imaginary friend, I'd imagine you a lot friendlier.:: _

_::Your respectfulness hasn't improved with your health, I see,::_ said Cade dryly.

_::I'll give you only as much respect as you've earned, kitty.:: _

_::Perhaps I should have left you to the cyberhounds. Have they earned your respect?:: _

_::I only treat my superior officers with respect, an' then not very much.:: _

_::How do you know I'm not a superior officer?::_ Cade drawled.

Jazz laughed aloud. _::I was gonna say that I only tease my friends, if you'd let me get to that.::_

Cade was silent for a while. _::How can you say I'm a friend if you barely know me?::_ he said seriously.

_::We faced quite a few hardships together. That tells ya a lot about a person.:: _

_::Well, I faced quite a few hardships. You fainted.:: _

_::I had been a prisoner for almost a week! And I didn't faint! I just . . . got tired.::_

Cade chuckled over the line. _::Get some rest, Jazz.:: _

_::Yeah, yeah,:: _Jazz muttered. _::Don't get your circuits in a bunch.:: _

_::I only nag my friends, you know.:: _

_::Oh, really?::_ Jazz said coyly. _::Ya sure about that? You barely know me.::_

_::I put up with you this long and I haven't killed you yet. I must like you. A little.:: _

_::So . . . see ya around?::_ Jazz tried not to sound embarrassingly hopeful. He wasn't sure if he succeeded.

_::Maybe,::_ said Cade, sounding more serious than he had all night. _::Maybe not. Probably when you least expect it, if at all.:: _

_::That's cool,::_ said Jazz. _::I like surprises.::_

_::And as far as anyone else knows, you escaped and got to Sixty-seven Delta on your own.:: _

_::I can keep a secret, kitty.:: _

_::Don't mention me to Ratchet or your friends, not even in your report. I'm serious about this.:: _

_::Yes sir, Mister Kitty, sir!::_

_::Jazz!:: _

_::Alright, alright. I'm pretty good at keeping secrets, ya know.:: _Jazz said, annoyed._ :: What do you want me to say?::_

_::Promise that you will not mention me to anyone for any reason. It isn't just my secret. This is bigger than you know.:: _

_::On my honor and integrity as an Autobot, I solemnly swear that when speaking with anyone – friend or foe, superior or inferior – I will give no indication that you or your species ever existed, much less helped me,:: _said Jazz.

_::Prettily spoken,:: _Cade conceded._ ::Thank you.:: _

_::Yer welcome. And, uh, thank you, too. For savin' my life. Again.:: _

_::Do you mean for saving your life again or are you simply thanking me again?:: _

_::Yes. I don't know. Both. Shut up.:: _

Cade snickered.

_::Would've saved us both a lot of trouble if you'd told me where you were going that last time, though,::_ said Jazz.

_::Would you have believed me?:: _

_::No . . . prob'ly not,::_ Jazz admitted.

_::I truly didn't think that you would try to find it on your own,::_ said Cade. _::And . . . honestly . . . I was frightened and angry. No one has ever found me out before.::_

_::Lucky it was me, then.:: _

_::I suppose so,::_ mused Cade. _::I underestimated you and for that I apologize.:: _

_::Aww, ya sure know how to charm a mech.:: _

_::I also underestimated your ability to get into trouble,::_ said Cade. _::Otherwise I would have never left you alone. Only you would get that close to the base out of sheer dumb luck, only to let yourself get treed by a pack of hungry cyberhounds.:: _

_::Hey! Who's sayin' it was dumb luck?::_ said Jazz.

_::You're not fooling anyone, cityslicker.::_

_::Did I forget to mention that as a special operative I have neither honor nor integrity?::_ said Jazz.

_::I'd believe it,::_ Cade muttered. _::If you so much as breathe a word – ::_

_::Remember what I said about teasing my friends?:: _

_::Go to sleep before I lose all patience with you, then, _friend_.::_

_::Shut up and leave me alone, then, _friend_.:: _

Cade did just that for so long that Jazz feared he'd actually offended him. _::Cade?::_

_::Yes, Jazz?::_ the catbot said immediately.

_::I wouldn't really tell anyone, you know.:: _

_::I know,:: _he said wearily.

Jazz smiled. _::So, see ya around?:: _

_::Maybe someday.::_ Jazz could hear the smile in Cade's voice and tell that it was bittersweet. _::I hope so.::_

* * *

**A/N:** So ends arc one. The rough draft for arc two is nearly finished and I'll start posting when it is presentable. Keep an eye on my page.

My humble thanks to all who have visited, followed, favorited, or reviewed this story that I have not personally responded to. I hope that you continue to enjoy this series.


End file.
